“Rory has a thick skin” - Rose confident that belligerent McIlroy can handle potential Bethpage “blowback"
Justin Rose of Team Europe sits for an interview during the 2025 Ryder Cup at Bethpage State Park on Wednesday, September 24, 2025 in Farmingdale, New York. (Photo by Scott Taetsch/PGA of America)
Rory McIlroy appears determined to sport a bullseye on his back in the bear pit they call Bethpage Black, but Justin Rose is backing Europe's most experienced player to handle any "blowback" that comes his way.
Dubbed ‘Rocky' McIlroy after his hold-me-back car park rant in Rome, the Masters champion is happy to call Patrick Cantlay "a dick”, Bryson DeChambeau an attention grabber and crowd trouble an "inevitable” companion In New York this week.
He appears ready to use the vitriol as rocket fuel and even provoked a couple of boos when fans came through the gates for the first time on Tuesday.
Rose is Europe's second most capped player, with six Ryder Cups to his name, and exudes leadership qualities that make him the leading candidate to skipper the side in Adare Manor in 2027, should his recent run of impressive form finally desert him.
But when asked about McIlroy's apparently self-appointed role as Europe's "chirper in chief", Rose showed no signs of concern that the Holywood star might regret poking the bear.
"Yeah, I think Rory is very comfortable with himself," the Englishman said. "I think he has thick skin.
"I think that he can handle the blowback of if he says something that he believes and it is not taken in the right way, I think he's happy to see it how he sees it and call it how he sees it.
"And I think he has the freedom on the golf course to just roll with that."
While some players see their game suffer when they find themselves under the spotlight for an off-colour or ill-judged comment, McIlroy looks bulletproof to Rose.
“What he says I don't think layers into his golf game, and that's an amazing talent that he has," Rose continued as he spoke to the media ahead of his seventh appearance in the Ryder Cup at the age of 45.
"I think he always plays incredibly freely, and I think that's probably the line where Rory can tiptoe better than most."
McIlroy is making his eighth appearance this week as Rose bids for his fifth win in seven.
The Englishman made a losing debut under Nick Faldo in 2008 and lost out to Padraig Harrington in a wildcard battle for a spot in Colin Montgomerie’s side in Wales in 2010.
Out of form early in the campaign, he also failed to make Harrington's team in Whistling Straits in 2021.
His other five appearances after Faldo’s Valhalla flop have all ended in victory or Europe and he's relishing the chance to build on his leading role in the Miracle at Medinah in 2012, Paul McGinley's demolition of Tom Watson's USA in 2014, the siege of Paris in 2018 and that memorable Roman triumph two years ago.
As the 11th-highest points scorer in European history, boasting a 75% win rate in foursomes after partnerships with the likes of Henrik Stenson and Ian Poulter, he had a different role last time and still performed.
Justin Rose of Team Europe sits for an interview during the 2025 Ryder Cup at Bethpage State Park on Wednesday, September 24, 2025 in Farmingdale, New York. (Photo by Scott Taetsch/PGA of America)
He didn’t play foursomes but made the perfect foil for rookie Robert MacIntyre in the fourballs, helping them halve with Max Homa and Wyndham Clark on day one before beating Justin Thomas and Jordan Spieth on day two.
He might have lost to Patrick Cantlay in singles, but he's arguably a stronger player now than he was in 2023, having finished joint second behind Xander Schauffele in The Open at Royal Troon and taken McIlroy to a playoff in the Masters in April.
He's found that being as close to peak Justin Rose as he can be is the best way to bring out the best in a teammate.
As Jack Nicholson's Melvin Udall tells Helen Hunt's Carol Connelly when paying her the ultimate compliment in 'As Good As It Gets', "You make me want to be a better man."
"I get a lot of credit for that," he said off the supposedly 'elder statesman' role he played for MacIntyre in Rome.
"But whether I did or didn't, I don't know. But ultimately, to be the best leader is by being the best version of yourself and leading by example."
Rather than being an arm-around-the-shoulder type player, Rose has found a way to elevate his game in recent years and motivate himself and his teammates through his golf.
Like Pádraig Harrington, he refuses to let the old man in: "Because I'm still enthusiastic about my game and I still want to be a contributing member of the team in the greatest way possible, which is earning points, and not just here for wisdom and things like that.”
If this European team is Version 2.0 of the side that won in Rome, the latest iteration of Rose is even more impressive, which could mean that Adare might come too soon for him to be captain.
As Tommy Fleetwood said of Rose: "He doesn't need to raise his voice or speak loudly or be the motivating force in terms of that.
"He's there, he has plenty of words of wisdom, and he leads by example in how he prepares himself and conducts himself on the golf course.
“I feel lucky that I've been able to spend so much time with him and learn so much from being around him in terms of how he does things.
"Yeah, he isn't going anywhere anytime soon, I don't think."
